Hand Codex a task and it sweeps the repo, makes the change, and gives you the branch to review. Your WordPress archive is the sweep you keep wanting, but a bulk-edit plugin writes straight to the database, so the cleanup, add the missing meta descriptions, fix the titles, retire an old product name, is one careless pass away from a restore from backup, and there is no branch to throw away.
Scratch pulls posts, pages, and custom types into a folder Codex opens. It edits and reports back like a code change; you review every diff; Scratch writes back only what you approve, over the REST API. The last 1%, what goes live, stays yours, and the templates and plugin-owned fields you cannot afford to break stay out of reach.
How it works
- Scratch pulls your content into files. Posts, pages, and any custom post types land in a folder on your laptop, auto-discovered, one file each.
- Codex edits the content. Point Codex at the Scratch folder and describe the change. It works the archive the way it works a codebase, and you read the result like a pull request. Add a meta description under 158 characters to every post that is missing one. Codex works the files, never the live site.
- You review every diff and publish. Scratch lays each change next to the original, word by word. Approve what ships, and Scratch writes only those posts back over the REST API.
What people use it for
The archive work that never starts because the editor is one post at a time:
- Give every post that is missing a meta description one, inside the limit.
- Fix inconsistent title case and formatting across the whole archive.
- Refresh old posts that still name a product, price, or policy you have moved on from.
- Write alt text across the media library.
- Tidy excerpts, categories, and tags so archives and feeds read clean.
Run it on 50 posts to feel the loop, then turn it loose on the archive.
Why not a plugin?
A bulk-edit plugin, like an MCP server, writes straight to your live database. One bad pass and you are restoring from a backup, hoping the backup is recent.
Scratch gives Codex the same full read and write access against a local copy instead. The publish step is lifted out and handed to you. Codex can change anything; only you can ship it. On a site with real traffic, that gap is the whole point.
What Codex edits in WordPress
- Post and page bodies, with block content preserved
- Titles, slugs, excerpts, and publication status
- Custom post types and taxonomies, auto-discovered
- Advanced Custom Fields and image alt text across the media library
Templates and template parts are excluded, and post meta is hidden by default so plugin-owned SEO fields stay safe. Validators check length, required fields, and any rule you set. The full picture lives on Scratch for WordPress.
Questions people ask
Is this an MCP server or a WordPress plugin?
Neither. A plugin or an MCP hands Codex the publish button. Scratch keeps it. Codex gets the same access, and publishing is a separate step you approve, one post at a time.
Will it touch my theme or plugin settings?
No. Templates and template parts are excluded, and post meta is hidden by default, so plugin-owned SEO fields are not edited by accident.
Can I roll a change back after it publishes?
Yes. Scratch keeps the original beside the rewrite, so every published post reverts per row. You decide which version stays.
How is this different from a bulk-edit plugin or a script?
A plugin and a script both write straight to the live database with no word-level diff and no per-post approval, and a find-and-replace does only what you spelled out. Codex handles the posts a rule cannot, and Scratch still holds every change for review before it goes live.
Can it run across the whole archive from one prompt?
Yes, that is the use case. Run it on 50 posts to feel the flow, then point it at the whole archive.
Do I need to be technical?
Codex lives in the terminal, so if you run it already, you are set. If a terminal is not where you want to be, the Claude desktop app runs the same Scratch loop with a more familiar surface.
See it on your own archive
The fastest way to trust it is to watch it run on your posts. See it run on your WordPress site →, or download Scratch free and take the first pass yourself.